On July 27, Tadej Pogacar won the Tour de France for the fourth time, concluding an exceptional month of July on the Champs-Élysées. Despite this new coronation, the Slovenian champion had to deal with an unexpected obstacle, which the general public has ignored until now.
The UAE team rider hid persistent knee pain, which occurred after a shock in a sprint preceding the Mont Ventoux stage. Hit in the knee during the impact, he continued the race while minimizing his injury, worried that his rivals would not be able to exploit his weakness, as his teammate Nils Politt recounts in the podcast Ulle and Rick.
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A hidden wound
To protect the yellow jersey, the UAE team implemented a drastic strategy. Politt reveals: “He hit his handlebars with his knee and a large bruise formed under the kneecap. » The next day, Pogacar confirmed the importance of the pain: “Damn… my knee, it really hurts. » Despite a reassuring MRI, fear grew at the idea of facing the Col de la Loze stage, which had been his worst moment during the 2023 edition.
In order to hide the injury and keep the advantage, UAE imposed an overwhelming pace from La Madeleine. “Riding so hard you break Visma,” says Politt. The team locked down all information, refusing to allow anyone to discover the leader’s weakness: “We couldn’t say that Tadej has a bad knee, otherwise they would break us on the first hill. » A perfectly executed omerta.
